How to Clean a Yoga Mat: Quick Wipe, Deep Clean and Care by Material

To clean a yoga mat, wipe both sides with a soft cloth and a few drops of mild washing-up liquid in warm water, go over it again with a cloth dampened in plain water, then hang it to air dry out of direct sunlight. That's it for most mats most of the time. The bit that trips people up is the material: a cheap PVC mat will put up with vinegar and a scrub, while a natural rubber or PU-topped mat can lose its grip, crack or stain if you treat it the same way. Below is the routine we'd follow, then the specifics for each type of mat.

The 30-second after-class wipe

Do this after any session where you've sweated on the mat. It stops oils building up, which is what makes a mat go slick and start to smell.

1. Mix a spray. Fill a 500ml spray bottle with warm water and add 2 or 3 drops of mild washing-up liquid. For PVC or TPE mats you can swap the soap for roughly 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water.
2. Mist lightly. You want the surface damp, not wet. Soaking a mat pushes water into it, and that's hard to get back out.
3. Wipe in one direction. Use a soft microfibre cloth and work from one end to the other on the top, then the underside. The underside picks up floor dust and gets forgotten.
4. Leave it open to dry. Ten minutes unrolled is usually enough after a light mist.

The weekly clean

If you practise three or more times a week, give the mat a proper going-over once a week. Lay it flat on a clean floor or in an empty bath, then:

• Dampen a soft sponge in warm water with a small squeeze of washing-up liquid (about half a teaspoon in a washing-up bowl).
• Work over the top surface in small circles, paying attention to where your hands and feet land. Those patches get the most sweat and usually look darker.
• Rinse the sponge in clean water and wipe the whole mat again to take off the soap. Leftover soap is a common cause of a slippery mat.
• Flip it and do the underside.
• Hang it to dry (more on that below).

The deep clean

Every few months, or when a mat smells even after a weekly clean, it's worth a deeper session. For PVC and TPE mats, you can lay the mat in a bath with a few centimetres of lukewarm soapy water, scrub gently with a soft brush, rinse with the shower head and hang it up. Keep the water shallow and the soak short (5 minutes, not an hour).

For natural rubber, PU-topped and cork mats, skip the bath entirely. Liforme's own care guide suggests a "very heavily diluted" solution of water with bicarbonate of soda or white vinegar, wiped over with a soft cloth and dried flat, and it recommends this no more than every 3 to 6 months (Liforme mat care guide). That's a sensible ceiling for any premium rubber mat.

How to clean each type of yoga mat

Not sure what yours is made of? Check the label or the product listing. If it's a cheap, slightly shiny mat with a uniform foam feel, it's probably PVC. If it smells faintly of rubber and is heavy for its size, it's natural rubber.

PVC mats

The most forgiving. Closed-cell PVC doesn't absorb much sweat, so soap and water, a vinegar spray, or even an occasional antibacterial wipe won't hurt it. A soft brush is fine for textured surfaces. Avoid harsh solvents and bleach, which can make the surface tacky.

TPE mats

TPE is lighter and spongier than PVC, and more prone to tearing at the edges. Clean it the same way (mild soap or diluted vinegar) but use a cloth rather than a brush and don't scrub hard. TPE also softens with heat, so keep it well away from radiators.

Natural rubber mats

This is where most of the damage happens. Open-cell rubber is grippy precisely because it absorbs a little moisture, which also means it absorbs smells and cleaning products. Our rules:

• Mild soap and water only for regular cleaning. Vinegar and citrus cleaners can be harsh on some rubber, so check the maker's care advice before using them.
• Never soak it or submerge it in a bath.
• Keep it out of sunlight, wet or dry. UV breaks rubber down and it'll start to crumble or go brittle at the edges.
• Avoid essential oil sprays. Oils degrade rubber and leave a slick film.

PU-topped rubber mats (Liforme, Lululemon The Mat and similar)

These have a polyurethane top layer bonded to a rubber base, and the PU is what gives that sticky, sweat-proof grip. Wipe only. Liforme recommends 3 to 5 pumps of its cleaner on a damp sponge, a 30-second wait, a wipe with a clean damp sponge and drying flat, or a small drop of dish soap in plenty of water if you don't have the branded product (Liforme mat care guide). It also says to dry it away from direct sunlight and roll it colour side out. Don't fold a PU mat; creases can stay permanently.

Cork mats

Cork is fairly low-maintenance. Wipe it with a damp cloth and a drop of mild soap, dry it straight away and don't soak it, because water can get under the cork layer and weaken the bond with the rubber or TPE backing. Most cork mats grip better when slightly damp, so a quick mist before class is fine.

Jute and cotton mats

Jute mats usually have a PVC or rubber backing, so treat them like a hybrid: spot-clean the fibres with a damp, soapy cloth and avoid saturating them. Cotton yoga rugs (the woven Mysore-style kind) are the one category that often goes in the washing machine, usually cold and gentle. Follow the label, and dry them flat or on a line rather than in a tumble dryer, which can shrink them.

Can you put a yoga mat in the washing machine?

For most mats, no. The drum folds and twists the mat, and that can tear TPE, crack rubber, peel a PU top off its base or split cork. The heat from a warm wash makes it worse. The exceptions are cotton rugs and a small number of thin PVC mats where the manufacturer explicitly allows it. If the care label doesn't say "machine washable", treat it as a hand-clean-only mat.

How to dry a yoga mat

Drying is where a clean mat either stays fresh or starts to smell. Hang it over a shower rail, a clothes airer or two chair backs so air reaches both sides. A flat lay on a towel works too if you flip it halfway through.

Never tumble dry a yoga mat, and never put it on a radiator or in front of a heater. Heat warps PVC and TPE and cracks natural rubber. Direct sun is just as bad for rubber and PU, though a few minutes of light won't ruin it. The rule we'd stick to: it doesn't get rolled up until it's dry all the way through, which can take a few hours for a thick rubber mat after a deep clean.

Fixing a smelly or slippery mat

It smells. Clean it with soapy water, then dry it unrolled for a full day. A light sprinkle of bicarbonate of soda left for 15 minutes and wiped off can help on PVC and TPE. If a rubber mat still smells after that, it's probably absorbed sweat deep into the material and won't fully recover.

It's slippery. The usual culprits are soap residue, skin oils or moisturiser, so a thorough rinse with a damp cloth often fixes it. Brand-new PVC mats can be slick from the factory finish; a gentle scrub and a few weeks of use usually break that in. If your hands still slide in a hot class, a yoga towel on top is the cheaper fix compared with a new mat.

Shared mats and hygiene

If you use studio or gym mats, wipe them before and after use, and take your own if you can. The NHS notes that athlete's foot spreads through walking barefoot where someone else has it, especially in changing rooms and showers, and advises against sharing towels (NHS athlete's foot guidance). A barefoot yoga class isn't a changing room, but the same logic makes a personal mat and a quick wipe a sensible habit.

When to replace your yoga mat

Cleaning only gets you so far. It's time for a new mat when:

• the surface is flaking or crumbling, or you can see the foam underneath
• it has thinned noticeably where your hands and feet go
• it stays slippery after a thorough clean
• a smell comes back within a day of washing it

A cheap PVC or TPE mat might last a year of regular use, while a good rubber or PU mat looked after properly should give you several. If yours is past saving, our guide to the best yoga mats in the UK compares grip, thickness and materials, and our best exercise mats round-up covers thicker mats for floor work and HIIT. If the mat lives on a hard floor in a home gym, proper gym flooring under it stops it creeping and protects the floor.

Recommended reads

1. The best yoga mats in the UK
2. The best exercise mats in the UK
3. The best yoga blocks in the UK
4. The best gym flooring in the UK
5. How to clean an ice bath